6. Old Chemistry Building

The vines around the building when this photograph
was taken are thick. Another noticeable feature of
the building is the number of chimneys: seven are
visible. Telephone poles bring wires into the Administration Building.
Indistinguishable in the scanned image are two men
walking across the campus. One stands next to the
circular structure jutting from the left side of
the building. The other is walking in front of
another campus building in the background.

This building, the first to be built after the
original three buildings, is now called Gillis
Hall after Ezra Gillis. Gillis was the first
registrar at the University. He served the
University from 1910 to 1937 and is responsible
for establishing and directing the university
archives.

The building was erected in 1889 at a cost of
$20,000 to be the first experiment station. The
funds for this building were money saved out of
the University's income plus legislative
appropriations. In 1891, it was destroyed by fire
and rebuilt immediately on the same plans. A
second Experiment
Station was built between Washington and
Virginia Avenues off Limestone Street. The second
experiment station building was later named
Scovell Hall.

Besides its use as an experiment station, the
building was used by the chemistry department
beginning in 1903. In 1927, the building was
remodeled and equipped for the College of Law.
It was also home to the department of hygiene, the
department of public health, and an infirmary in
1939 (Cone, 1989). Now, it houses the registrar's
and admissions office.